Making Connections

At the beginning of each year, VIVA Gallery takes a month to celebrate the talents of its members with a themed show, and this January our member show is called Connections. Members are encouraged to interpret what Connection means to them. Choosing this theme was in part a response to how divisive our country and politics have become. As divided as we are; this theme is a reminder that we can all still find a common connection through our humanity and in this case through our art.

For my personal connection I decided to showcase how every piece that I weave is more than just the time and skill that I put into the weaving but is part of a larger community.

This weaving showcases a small part of the fiber community that I am fortunate to be part of. Featured are handspun yarns created by shepherdess Barb Bangert with wool from Fiona the Cormo sheep and Oreo the llama. I’ve dyed this yarn along with some local fiber that was mill-spun by Kathryn of @ewetopiayarn.

I had planned a Halvdrall shawl with the wonderfully soft and squishy yarns that Barb spun, because they would be delicious to wear, but after removing from the loom the piece seems more like a table runner or wall hanging. However I hope to have enough left on the warp to piece together for a small blanket cause I just want to curl up with it in front of the fire.

As every weaver knows, there is a story to be told with every fiber: animals lovingly cared for, each fiber running through the hands of the spinner and then each thread measured and woven.

I will continue to weave a connection through our fiber community and the many weavers that created cloth before me.

from design to weaving

Barb doing some drop spindling on a turkish spindle. Fiona the Cormo sheep and Oreo the lovely llama

One of the most important connections in this project is the one with the animals the fiber came from and the care and love that my fiber artist friend Barb puts into their care. As a little insight into some of the love that went into this weaving here is an excerpt written by Barb about being a shepherdess.

“Why I Became a Shepherdess:

When Angie approached me about participating in the fiber collaborative with her I was intrigued and willing to add some of my yarn to the project. Then she asked to write a bit about why I became a shepherdess. I had to think about that for a while and revisit the past 20 years to see how I got here.

I was brought up on a farm and had always intended to be in the country. Having animals was always the plan but not necessarily sheep. Then, I learned to spin.

I had longed, since I was a little girl, to learn how to spin. I found a wonderful woman from Black Rivers Falls, Deb Jones of The Fiber Garden, who taught beginner spinning. I was hooked immediately.

My next “great” idea was to have my own flock so I wouldn’t have to buy fiber. Little did I know that buying fiber was much cheaper than having my own fiber animals. My flock, over the years, has been made up of sheep, rabbits, mohair goats and llamas that people no longer wanted. They were either being sold to other farms or, for the most part, headed to the auction barn to become meat. People who know me well know that I just can not look into an animal’s face who is destined for someone’s stew pot and stand aside. One look from their pleading expression of “Please help me/us! You are my/our last best hope!” and I was all “Oh, go on then. Jump into the back of the car and I will just try to explain you to my husband once I get home!” More than once I heard, “That had better not be our sheep…or llama..or goat….or”……..you can see the pattern here… and I would reply, “Yes, it is! Aren’t they sweet?” At one time, I had as many as 18 rescues.

I must say that I have been blessed time and time again buy interacting with these dear beings. (Well, with the exception of Silas but that is another story for another time. Let us just say, I like him much better now that I sit on his pelt when I weave.)

These animals have enriched my life beyond measure. And, sure, it has cost me so much more, moneywise, than buying fiber but I would never give up my moments of sitting in the pasture with them as they graze at my side, giving hugs and getting gentle head nudges, hearing them “talk” to me each day and having them look up into my eyes with total trust and love. Yes, and even sitting with them with their head in my lap as they cross over the Rainbow Bridge. “

And she is a great storyteller.